Lone star statesmen celebrate, criticize jobs report

This morning the Department of Labor released its monthly job report highlighting a surprising turn of events: the unemployment rate dropped from 8.1 percent to 7.8 percent in the month of September.

The latest report may give Barack Obama a much needed boost after his lackluster debate performance. The president has insisted throughout his term that the economy is indeed recovering, albeit rather slowly.

The September jobless rate is the lowest it has been since January 2009, Obama’s first month in office. According to the report, 114,000 non-farm payroll jobs were added to the economy last month.

For many Republicans, unemployment and slow economic growth are popular talking points in their efforts to fire the boss. Although the newest numbers show signs that “hope” and “change” may finally be coming to America, many of Texas’s elected officials remain skeptical of the statistics.

Texas elected officials react to jobs report through social media

For the first time in three years, the unemployment rate has dropped below 8 percent. Texas’s elected officials posted mixed reactions to their Facebook and Twitter pages. See what they had to say about the latest jobs report.

Storified by · Fri, Oct 05 2012 09:46:24

Good news for the job market: unemployment rate dropped to 7.8% during the month of Sept – making this the first time the unemployment rate declines below 8% since 2009. According to the Department of Labor 114,000 jobs were added this past month. Overall, this is a strong jobs report for September & strong indicator of economic recovery.U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28)

Today’s jobs report serves as a reminder that far too many Americans are still looking for work or have stopped trying in the Obama economy.Pete Sessions

Kevin Brady called the jobs report a “part-time recovery” on Friday, saying “The decline in the unemployment rate was driven primarily by an increase of 582,000 in the number of workers employed involuntarily in part-time jobs. These workers need and want full-time jobs.”

Discussing the recent jobs report on FOX Business with Stuart VarneyKevin Brady

The US unemployment rate falls to the lowest level since the Obama presidency began. We still have a lot of work to do, but it is encouraging that the economy is recovering from the worst recession in decades. http://abcnews.go.com/Business/september-jobs-report-unemployment-falls/story?id=17399181#.UG7pY0LwIZ0Eddie Bernice Johnson

For every person who found a job, 7 dropped out. Over 23 million Americans still looking for work, we can do better. Please read my statement:Rep. Bill Flores

“While it is encouraging to see job growth, many Americans are skeptical of the rate reported this morning, because job growth did not exceed what our nation needs to keep up with population growth,” said Flores in a statement Friday.

Will join host @chucktodd on MSNBC’s @dailyrundown at 9:10am ET to talk jobs numbers and news of the day. Tune in if you can!Kay Bailey Hutchison

Today’s jobs report serves as a reminder that far too many Americans are still looking for work or have stopped trying in the Obama economy.Pete Sessions

“Just last week, the Bureau of Economic Data reported that GDP grew at a sluggish rate of 1.3 percent in the second quarter of this year – down from the year’s first quarter. This economic growth matches the slowest quarter since 2009, and underscores the need for pro-growth policies to re-energize our economy,” Pete Sessions said in a statement Friday.

Good news for job market: unemployment rate dropped to 7.8% in September & 114,000 jobs added to the economy, Dept. of Labor reports.Rep. Henry Cuellar

If this recovery was just average, there would be another 3.9 million private sector jobs. #4jobs http://kevinbrady.house.gov/brady-news-releases/jobs-report-a-parttime-recovery-brady-says/RepKevinBrady

At this point in the recovery we should be seeing job gains in the private sector in excess of 250,000 per month #4jobs http://kevinbrady.house.gov/brady-news-releases/jobs-report-a-parttime-recovery-brady-says/RepKevinBrady